ENSO Low-Frequency Modulation and Mean State Interactions

Alexey V. Fedorov, Shineng Hu, Andrew T. Wittenberg, Aaron F.Z. Levine, Clara Deser

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

30 Scopus citations

Abstract

Is El Niño changing with global warming? Can we anticipate decades with extreme El Niño events? To answer these questions confidently, we need to understand the modulation of the El Niño Southern Oscillation phenomenon (ENSO) that occur on decadal and multidecadal timescales and involve changes in El Niño amplitude, periodicity, dominant “flavors”, shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and other properties. As major progress has been made in understanding various factors that can affect these characteristics of El Niño, two main paradigms have emerged to explain the observed modulation of ENSO: (i) internally generated variations due to the chaotic nature of the ocean-atmosphere coupled system and (ii) externally driven variations due to cyclic or secular changes in the properties of the tropical background state such as mean winds or ocean thermocline depth. This article reviews these two paradigms in the context of available observations, idealized models, and comprehensive general circulation models describing El Niño. Which paradigm will domi-nate in the coming decades and whether global warming is already affecting El Niño remains unclear.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationGeophysical Monograph Series
PublisherJohn Wiley and Sons Inc.
Pages173-198
Number of pages26
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Publication series

NameGeophysical Monograph Series
Volume253
ISSN (Print)0065-8448
ISSN (Electronic)2328-8779

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